Tough act by Bernal brought no opponents

By Brian Chasnoff :
March 6, 2013
: Updated: March 7, 2013 1:03am

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Since his election two years ago, District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal has shown little squeamishness for stepping on big toes, provided he's stomping toward a greater good.

In theory, this could create political problems.

“You do what you think is best, and you understand that's going to upset people,” Bernal says. “And they will pick their way to let you know how upset they are.”

What's remarkable, though, is that no one chose to express his or her displeasure at the ballot box. With elections in May, Bernal is the only council member running for re-election unopposed.

In some ways, his free ride is counterintuitive.

You could argue he risked a backlash with the City Council Consideration Request, an administrative tool to initiate new policies. In recent years, most have proven uncontroversial, their authors aiming for outcomes that few would argue against: better traffic flow, more broadband access.

In June, Bernal bucked that trend, filing a request to rein in the predatory practices of payday lenders, the same ones who lavish cash to influence elections at the state level.

That month, at a meeting of the City Council's Governance Committee, employees of several payday lending companies — more than 200 operate in San Antonio — filled a large conference room. Some audibly scoffed when Bernal, 36, said he felt obligated to protect the city's most vulnerable residents.

The local measure passed and took effect this year. Among other rules, it limits the amount of a payday loan based on a borrower's income and mandates a minimum reduction of the loan principal with each payment.

For Bernal, though, the matter isn't closed.

“I know for a fact that TitleMax is directing people to — if they have to renew a loan or roll over, they're sending (customers) to Balcones Heights, where the ordinance doesn't apply,” he told me on Wednesday. “To me, it just demonstrates that they're not operating in good faith.”

Since the ordinance took effect Jan. 1, the city's finance department has received at least 10 reports of lenders at TitleMax relocating customers to Balcones Heights or Windcrest. Bernal's office has received at least four similar reports.

TitleMax did not respond to a media inquiry. But Bernal is happy to answer for them.

“What they'll say is, 'Well, it's because our customers have to pay more under the current ordinance because when you roll it over, it's 25 percent of the principal plus their fees,'” he said. “They can always lower their fees. That's what they've done in other cities.

“They're not interested in the customer experience. They're interested in keeping people on the hook for as long as they can.”

I suggested there's little the city could do to prevent these companies from circumventing the law. In response, Bernal evinced a trademark prickliness that likely inspired the reforms in the first place.

“Balcones Heights can do something about it,” he said.

Such a statement hints at a readiness to clash not only with private interests, but also public officials. At City Hall, he opposed a deal approved by executive city staff to offer major incentives to H-E-B in exchange for a relatively small downtown grocery store.

Bernal disliked the terms, and his opposition forced a more open process. Last week, the city began soliciting proposals from other grocery store operators.

As in payday lending, a more democratic process was achieved grudgingly, and some big toes were bruised along the way. In both cases, the results could explain why no one challenged Bernal this season.

“Otherwise, what's the point of being a councilperson?” he said. “You're supposed to make the quality of life for the people who live here better — make it more attractive to folks who live here, make it more attractive to folks who don't live here to either visit, invest business, bring jobs.

“Those are very easy things to agree with. That's not an unpopular platform.”